


The Ardor of Every Day

by sadgirl0110



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Surfers, Domestic Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hanging Out, Hurt/Comfort, Intimacy, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, NaruSasu Day, Naruto is Just Naruto, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Realistic, Romance, SasuNaru Day, Sexual Tension, Sleepovers, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smoking, Soft Uchiha Sasuke, Summer Love, Surfing, Tension, Thunderstorms, Touching, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke Needs a Hug, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Walks On The Beach
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadgirl0110/pseuds/sadgirl0110
Summary: The July air was warm and carried humidity, air that would change into a sweat as soon as it hit you.  Naruto was running back to his summer job at the family convenience store after grabbing lunch for him and his dad from home, which was just nearby...Naruto could barely see who was in the car but all three of them started walking towards it as Fugaku said, "My son is already here to pick me up so I better take leave."..They shared a momentary glance at each other, and Naruto's goosebumps intensified just a bit by this weird and nonchalant experience.[a very intimate and passionate dynamic (no smut) + slow burn]
Relationships: Naruto - Relationship, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 16
Kudos: 58
Collections: Fics Naruto/Sasuke, Naruto Fanfictions, Sasuke Uchiha, Sasuke x Naruto, Sasunaru





	1. 1.

It was a scorching summer day. The heat was blazing and you couldn't even step outside for more than a couple of minutes without a burning sensation on your skin. The July air was warm and carried humidity, air that would change into a sweat as soon as it hit you.

The trees and their leaves were glowing and dancing in the sunlight. The cicadas provided an annoying but familiar sound in the back.

Children were biking and stopping at the vending machine to get something cool to soothe their parched throats.

Naruto was running back to his summer job at the family convenience store after grabbing lunch for him and his dad from home, which was just nearby. His white headband slowly loosening and climbing down his forehead as he reached to fix it. Beads of sweat building on the back of his neck. His apron tied at his waist making him uncomfortable as he ran, but he didn't mind it as he was close to reaching.

As he opened the door to the store and the cool air hit him, he said to himself, "Ahh, air conditioning is a truly wonderful thing".

He went to the back of the store where his dad was doing inventory and gave him his bento box.

"Here you go dad, lunch."

"Thanks, can you just put it on my chair here for now? I'll eat in a bit." Said his dad while on the ladder adjusting something.

Naruto did what he said and leaned on the wall as he asked, "uh also, should I turn the open sign back on now?"

"Yeah sure, you could eat first if you want and then turn it on, it's up to you." He said looking back at him in the middle of his task.

Naruto closed the door and sat down in the chair near the cash till to eat. He decided it was best to turn the open sign back on after he ate so that no one could interrupt his meal.

It was a slow day anyway, they barely had any customers come in since the morning and it was already 2 pm. After finishing his meal and turning the sign back on, he sat back on his chair and started scrolling on his phone to pass time. He heard some loud noises outside but he didn't bother to check.

More than a couple of hours passed by and he had some customers but nothing too busy. They also lived in a small town by the beach so it was mostly like this. He and his dad were just helping out anyway, it was his uncle who owned the store. After some time, his dad came out from the backroom to eat and just stretch.

"Naruto! I thought I told you to shut off the air conditioning after 5 pm! You're gonna get fired if you keep going like this!" His dad said as he entered the front of the store.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about it! I promise it won't happen again!" He said with an apologetic tone from his chair.

"Before closing up, I want you to organize any mess on the shelves, ok?" He said to Naruto who was now playing on his switch.

"Yes I will, and I do every day, you don't need to tell me."

"Hmm ok." Minato said while slurping his cold soba.

A couple more hours passed by and it was almost closing time now. Street lights were on with moths flailing around their tops, and the sky was a dark blue with streaks of orange and pink from the summer sunset. Birds were singing the last of their harmonies for the day as it was fully dark outside.

"I'm just gonna step out for a smoke and splash some water on my face before we leave ok?" his dad said as he opened the door and disappeared outside.

Naruto saw some smoke and then heard his dad talking to someone. He wasn't a fan of his dad's smoking habit, but he recognized that a long time habit like that can't be let go too easily. He got up from his chair and started making rounds in the store to fix anything he could see was disheveled. Suddenly the talking stopped and the door opened, but he couldn't see who it was since he was between aisles.

"Dad is that you?" he questioned loudly while tip-toeing, trying to catch a glimpse of who it was.

"Ah yes, Naruto come here, I want you to meet someone." He announced loudly and started talking again.

Naruto ran to the front where he saw his dad talking to a tall man, with brown hair which some might say was long as well. He had a deep voice and was holding a can of coffee in his hand. When he saw Naruto, he politely smiled and waved.

"Naruto, this is Fugaku! One of my friends from college! We used to be really good friends before he moved away for a job placement. You can call him Mr. Uchiha." His dad said with a bright smile on his face.

"Oh no, none of those formalities! You can just call me by my first name Fugaku." He said while smiling.

"Oh ok, very nice to meet you Fugaku, I'm just gonna clean up here since we're closing up!" mentioned Naruto awkwardly. He wasn't very good at social situations with new people and this was one of them.

He distanced himself and started mopping the floor.

Fugaku and Minato kept talking and Fugaku started grabbing some supplies and food from the store. As he got all the things and went to pay, his dad said that it was on him since it was his first night in the new town and they were seeing each other after so long. Naruto noticed that the amount of food he got was way too much for just one person so he might have a family member at home as well. As his dad and Fugaku talked, Naruto finished cleaning up and locked the store. Both Fugaku and his dad were having a smoke as a car pulled up at the end of the parking lot.

Naruto could barely see who was in the car but all three of them started walking towards it as Fugaku said, "My son is already here to pick me up so I better take leave, but we should definitely get together and have dinner sometime. Also now that my shop is right beside yours we'll see each other all the time."

"Yes of course we should have dinner, and we can take smoke breaks together too now." Naruto's dad said while chuckling.

They slowly moved closer to the car, the wind was a bit cooler now and the night sky completely dark. Naruto could feel the cool breeze on his neck as he got some goosebumps and a slight shiver. He didn't care about bringing a change of clothes, he would just walk to the store with his apron and walk back home the same way.

"All right, good night both of you." Fugaku jogged a bit forward to the car and said loudly as he opened the door.

Naruto could now finally see this mysterious son of this new person he had just met. He was wearing a black hoodie and had hair similar to Fugaku but darker and differently styled. One hand on the wheel and one holding his phone. The light from the phone revealed his pale and clear complexion. Naruto could still only see less than his side profile. All the things that he could see and assume only made this individual more unknown to him. He was not even bothered by Fugaku opening the car door.

Naruto and his dad had taken a stop a bit far from the car, as they had to walk the other way to get home. As Fugaku closed the door Naruto's dad shouted "good night" and Naruto waved bidding farewell to Fugaku, when they finally caught the attention of the mysterious boy in the driver's seat. The stranger just slightly adjusted his neck to look past Fugaku to see who these people were.

Naruto finally got a good look at his face, and it was what he expected, his eyes were dark too, like the depths of the ocean. They shared a momentary glance at each other, and Naruto's goosebumps intensified just a bit by this weird and nonchalant experience.

He and his dad started making their way home as Fugaku and the boy drove off. On his way home, and through the night this experience took up a considerate part of his mind as he just wanted to know what kind of person was driving that car.

He later found out from his dad that Fugaku had opened a flower shop right beside their convenience store, and today was the moving day. Maybe he'll see this boy again, or maybe he won't, he thought as he stopped staring at the ceiling and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	2. 2.

The next morning Naruto woke up feeling just ordinary and had forgotten about his feelings and the incident from the day before.

He had a very mundane life. He had a couple of good friends and some others that he was friendly with. He was very likeable and usually carried a smile on his face. He went about his way of life with a happy go lucky mindset. In school, he had average grades and was involved in some sports teams as he had a grand sense of community. Otherwise, he spent his free time gaming and learning how to cook from his mom.

Summers for Naruto had been the same for a couple of years now since he started helping out at the store almost every day of his vacation. During the rest of the year, he would help out occasionally when his uncle needed him. This was the summer in his final year of high school, with just some months left, the thought of his future decisions seldom crossed his mind. He liked working at the Uzumaki convenience store as he could ask for a day off anytime he wanted, and the hours weren't too bad either. Plus it was an opportunity to earn some spending money. He would make the most of summer in his time off by doing some homework, spending time on the beach surfing, taking in the sun, and also learning different recipes from his mother.

He and his dad would usually take shifts together at the store and he would start a bit later as well. After waking up and taking care of his hygiene, he stepped in the kitchen and made breakfast for the family. After eating he got ready to go surf with all his stuff.

"I'll be back in an hour! And I'm taking the car!" He shouted to let his parents know as he grabbed the keys and made his way out the door.

Even though they lived close to the beach, it wasn't close enough to walk, especially on a day he had work. Also, it was just way too hot.

Parking his car, he stripped and put on his surf suit. He waxed his board, put a large amount of sunscreen and made his way to the water. He also put his watch on as to keep a check on when he should leave.

He loved the way the water made him feel, just sitting on his surfboard, a few meters from the sand, in the water, he felt incredible peace and calm. Any negative thoughts just evaporated. He wasn't a pro surfer or anything. He had a few skills and liked to have his fun in the lukewarm ocean water. Sometimes he would sit there and stare in the way of the endless ocean. He loved the way the sun shined on the top of his head in the morning. He also loved how everyone on the beach was always in a good mood and having fun, it was like meditation for him.

After an hour, which only felt like a few minutes for Naruto, he knew he had to make it back in time or his dad would have a little fuss about it. He got out of his suit, dried himself off and made his way home.

He took a quick shower, changed into his usual white t-shirt and burnt orange shorts and made his way downstairs. He grabbed his white apron and headband from the kitchen chair and leaned on the wall as his mom sorted lunch for him and his dad.

"I didn't forget it today!" He said to his mom after he kissed her on the cheek and grabbed the lunch from the counter.

"Bye, be safe!" Said his mom as he made his way outside.

It was about a ten-minute walk to the store. He swung around the bag of lunch a little bit while walking before realizing it might not be the best idea. He was just a couple of minutes away when he realized he was a tad late. He started running just to save himself from a scolding. As he reached and opened the door, he completely missed the sight of the boy from yesterday, standing outside the shop beside his.

"You're finally here. As usual, you're gonna be on cash and keep an eye at the storefront and I'll be in the back." Naruto nodded to this and put the lunch on his chair.

"Also just to remind you, I'm not gonna be here tomorrow, you're on your own. That's ok right?"

"Yeah, I'm old enough to handle the store." Naruto said as he lightly rolled his eyes.

"Ok, ok, I'm just making sure." His dad shrugged and went to tend to his duties.

Naruto stood around for a while glaring at the door, desperately waiting for a customer to start his day off. When no one came in for a while, he started walking around in the aisles to check if everything was proper. At this moment he thought that he liked his life like this. Although he knew that this was no way to make money and build a future, he didn't want things to change. He liked living in this small town, where he knew people, where it wouldn't get too cold in the winters, where his routine was filled with tasks he willingly wanted to do. It felt fulfilling but it also stressed him out because he knew it wouldn't last long. He sat back down in his chair in the hope of some customers.

It had been a few hours now and he had turned off the open sign to eat his lunch for the day. While eating, he heard a knock on the door, and the memories of yesterday came rushing back to him. This person looked awful too similar to the boy he saw yesterday. The person outside the door mouthed, "Can I come in?" as Naruto gave him a thumbs up.

He opened the door and walked in, that's when Naruto realized, it's not the person he saw yesterday and felt a little relief, even though they appeared to look similar.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but we forgot our water bottles and my dad said I could just come to the store next door and buy some." The stranger said.

"Yeah don't worry about it, the water is right there." Naruto pointed towards the refrigerator.

The stranger brought over the water bottles and was fumbling his pockets for cash when Naruto just couldn't wait anymore and had to know who he was.

"Are you Mr Uchiha's son?" Naruto asked. He was squealing on the inside, thinking he might have overstepped.

"Yeah, I'm one of his sons, my name's Itachi, you're Naruto, right? Dad told us about meeting you guys last night." He smiled and handed Naruto the cash.

The door slightly opened, and the hot air rushed in once again. This time it was definitely the person he saw yesterday, Itachi's brother. Naruto didn't even realize how his gaze was locked on him.

"Itachi, dad needs your help ASAP, can you please hurry?" The boy said in a low voice.

"Sasuke, why can't you help him?"

His name was Sasuke.

"Because he needs both of us to help him." He spoke again.

"I gotta go! But catch you later." Itachi said and left.

Naruto didn't even pay attention to when Itachi left. He was too focused on just watching Sasuke's every move. His stomach felt weird when Sasuke didn't even look at him. But again, he had no idea what kind of person he was. He just knew his name. For now.

The rest of the day went by slowly for him. He kept thinking of the day before and the incident today. He had this urge to know who Sasuke was. Naruto was a curious person in general, so this feeling wasn't out of character for him and Sasuke's peculiar aura didn't help his situation. He felt a bit melancholic as his mind was the thing holding him back from just going next door and talking to him.

His dad had left early so he was the only one locking the store today. With his lunch bag on his shoulder, he locked the store and went outside. From his peripheral, he saw a tall structure on the left and turned to look. It was a ladder and a person was sitting on the top. He squinted his eyes to focus and realized that it was Sasuke painting the signage of their flower shop. He built up some courage and took a few steps towards the ladder. The street light illuminated Sasuke's overalls with spots of scattered paint everywhere.

He looked to his feet before facing Sasuke's direction and said, "Hey."

Sasuke didn't notice him. Naruto didn't have it in him to try again. He just kept looking at him for a minute before realizing that Sasuke was wearing earphones and listening to music. He couldn't hear Naruto's voice or his actions. After this, Naruto just made his way home. Sasuke was too intimidating for him to try anything else.


	3. 3.

Sasuke was constantly a part of Naruto's head for the next couple days. He'd see him and keep a lookout for him whenever he went to work and left work. He was steadily observing Sasuke whenever he saw him, as to figure out what kind of person he might be. Through all of his observations, Naruto saw that Sasuke was pretty distant from his father and brother and kept to himself. He didn't seem to converse with them much, his methods of communication included a few words and mostly just head nods. He never expressed much on his face either.

Naruto was creating a plan this whole time to introduce himself to Sasuke soon. He planned to take one of his friends along with him on his next day off to the flower shop, as to use them as a buffer if anything goes wrong. He'd just have to hope that Sasuke would be working that day or at least be at the shop.

He was hanging out with his friend Hinata the day he planned to execute his plan. He felt like a child, he thought to himself the night before. He didn't tell Hinata about his plan. The day of, he got dressed up and walked to Hinata's house to pick her up. Most of the people he knew lived walking distance. He texted her when he reached her place.

Naruto: _"I'm here, hurry up."_

Hinata: _"Yeah, wait up, I'll be out in a second."_

Hinata was Naruto's best friend. They had grown up together and gone to the same schools since they were children. She had beautiful long black hair and grey eyes. Naruto would also make fun of her for being so petite. She came through the front door with her tote bag swinging in one hand and her water bottle in the other.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked while lightly kicking Naruto's calf.

"Oi don't do that. And I don't know, I was just thinking we could walk around on the beach looking for some shells-"

"Can we get something to eat too?, I skipped breakfast." Hinata interrupted.

"Yes, I was just gonna say that, only if you'd let me finish." Naruto nudged her with his elbow.

"Also I want to visit the flower shop that just opened beside our store before I drop you back home." Naruto crossed his fingers in the hope that she wouldn't ask any questions.

"Huh? Why do you want to go to the flower shop?" Of course, she would ask questions he thought.

"My mom told me to grab some for the dining table." Naruto was not a good liar but at this moment, Hinata didn't think she had anything to suspect.

"Oooh ok, I'll grab some tulips for my mom as a surprise too, she'll be so happy!" Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and started skipping her steps.

After walking around for some time, they took the bus and went to their favourite local ramen spot for a late lunch. They sat there a bit longer than planned because the air conditioner just felt too good compared to the heat outdoors. With their bellies full they decided to take a walk on the beach as it was just nearby. Naruto, as usual, spent most of his time staring into the distance of the ocean, while Hinata collected some elegant shells and struggled to capture some good photos of herself. They later got some iced drinks to cool their bodies and got back on the bus to go to the flower shop.

On the bus, Naruto was still breaking a sweat and felt a tad insecure about what was going to happen next. Hinata noticed this unusual behaviour but didn't want to say anything to upset him or make him feel conscious further. After getting off at the bus stop, Naruto kept his fingers crossed the whole time.

As they stood in front of the shop, Hinata read out loud, "Uchiha Florist".

The signage that Sasuke had been painting was now complete. It looked beautiful. It had a black background with the words written in lilac. He had also painted vines that surrounded the letters to lift it from being perceived as boring.

They opened the door and felt some immediate humidity from being surrounded by plenty of lush plants and flowers. They had some lined up outside the store as well. Naruto was pretending to stretch his neck around, looking for Sasuke. Before Naruto could prepare himself, Sasuke rose from behind the cash desk wrapping a bouquet for an order. His black t-shirt was covered with a waxed lilac apron on top, almost resembling the signage. Naruto immediately felt his body shoot up with nervousness. But his eyes were just locked on Sasuke doing his job, they couldn't move.

"Hey! Is everything ok? Don't you have to pick out flowers for your mom?" Hinata had already picked out the tulips she wanted. She thought it was odd that Naruto was a bit flustered for no reason.

"Yeah I do, I was just confused, help me pick them pretty please?"

Having Hinata on his side calmed Naruto down a bit. He was sure things wouldn't turn out too bad. When he redirected his attention to Sasuke, he was looking right back at him with his sharp eyes. Naruto made eye contact for a second and immediately looked back at Hinata. He didn't apprehend why he found Sasuke so intimidating. Naruto didn't have too much trouble making friends. It just happened naturally because of the way he was. This made him feel queasy. They started walking around the store and he could feel the pressure of Sasuke's eyes on him before he disappeared behind an aisle.

After walking around the store, Hinata and Naruto couldn't figure out what would be appropriate for his mother. As his mother didn't actually ask for any flowers at all, this was just going to be a surprise.

"Why don't you just ask the store employee?" Said Hinata, tired of being unable to make a selection for his friend.

"Yeah uh ok, I guess I'll just do that." He replied. At this point, Naruto knew he had to make this first move for a friendship he desired.

They walked over to the cash desk where Sasuke was busy wrapping a bouquet again.

"Hey um, could you recommend some table flowers that my mom would like?" Naruto almost tripped on his words but he felt such a release that it was ultimately done and over with.

Sasuke stood still doing his task, not looking at Naruto when his dad came from the back and acknowledged Naruto immediately.

"Hi Naruto, how are you? Looking for anything particular today?" Fugaku asked while placing down a huge bag of soil.

"Um hi Mr Uchiha, sorry um Fugaku, sir, and yeah, my mom asked me to bring some table flowers for the home, could you recommend any, please? Naruto was looking at Sasuke's hands doing his work before he averted his attention back to Sasuke's dad.

"Of course, but first I would like you to meet my son Sasuke. He'll be going to the same school as you after summer ends hopefully. You can be his first friend here."

"Hi." Naruto said in a low voice.

Sasuke looked at him and waved one of his hands then went back to his task. Fugaku seemed a bit disappointed by this action.

"Sasuke, give me the bouquet and show Naruto something suitable to give his mother at home." Fugaku ordered him.

Sasuke made his way out from behind the cash desk. "Follow me." He said in a low and monotone voice.

While following him, Naruto began making observations in his head about how Sasuke was just a bit taller than him, and also a touch slenderer. How he had a lousy posture and hunched his back a little while walking. Before he could make any more, they came to a halt and he had to make sure that he wasn't being awkward anymore, so he composed himself.

"Here. These are carnations. The colours can mean different things but all in all, they summarize love and good luck. Pick a colour and I'll wrap them in a paper for you." This was the longest Naruto had heard Sasuke talk. His voice sounded monotone, without any character, almost like he was reading a script.

After saying that much Sasuke made his way back to the cash desk. Naruto decided to go with four white carnations and four red carnations. He wanted all of them to be white but Hinata insisted he should add some colour. They walked back to the cash desk where Sasuke was passing time on his phone waiting for them. Naruto handed him the flowers and Sasuke started wrapping them immediately.

"Some cicadas must have made this shop their home right?" Hinata whispered to Naruto, pointing out the noise in the back.

"Mhm." He nodded.

He was too busy looking at Sasuke's movements and trying not to be obvious.

"That'll be 1,500 yen." He spoke again, thought Naruto.

Naruto handed him the cash and Sasuke gave him back a receipt.

"Thank you for this." Naruto said and smiled shyly.

"Yeah." Replied Sasuke in his monotonous voice again.

After that Naruto and Hinata made their way home and Naruto tried recalling little about his short conversation with Sasuke and chose to focus more on his friend he was with at the moment. After a cheerful few minutes, he dropped off Hinata at her house and started walking toward his home. The carnations in his hand kept reminding him of what had just happened. He thought he was getting trapped deeper and deeper into what felt like a senseless obsession at this point. But he just wanted to get to know him. He didn't mind Sasuke keeping to himself. That seemed like his personality, that's why he didn't come off as a jerk when he spoke.

He reached home and completely forgot that the flowers were supposed to be for his mom.

"Naruto, just in time, dinner's almost ready! How is Hinata doing?" His mom shouted from the kitchen.

Naruto walked to her to avoid the loud noise, carrying the flowers in his hand.

"That smells so good, and Hinata's fine too."

"Who are those flowers for? Are you seeing someone?" His mom smirked.

"Uh no, these are for you actually, I thought you could put them on the dining table, they came with instructions on how to preserve them and everything." He handed her the flowers.

"Oh, Naruto. These are beautiful. How did you know I like carnations?"

"I didn't."


	4. 4.

The sun was shining brightly through the curtains in Naruto's room. He awoke in a sweat as the sunlight was directly hitting his body. Today he felt like not doing anything, moreover, he felt moody. He didn't want to move a muscle and simply wanted to sit in his room and do nothing. But he knew he had to go to work, no excuses. Naruto had dropped all hopes of making friends with Sasuke after what happened yesterday. Even though Naruto had no problems with how he was, he deemed the whole thing too complicated to partake in anymore. He decided he would leave it up to the circumstances of his daily life to decide if anything happens between them.

He sluggishly got up, did his routine and went downstairs to get breakfast before he left for the store.

"Good morning, or should I say afternoon? It's already twelve you know."

"I know ma." Naruto said as he sat down on a chair and put his head on the table.

"Why didn't you go to the beach this morning like every day?" His mom lowered her newspaper out of concern.

"I just didn't feel like it. I don't really wanna go to work either but I don't want to be a burden on dad. Otherwise, I would've told him that I don't feel up to it today." He let out a sigh and got up to get some cereal.

"Did something happen? You're usually never like this." She followed him with her eyes.

"No, nothing like that."

"Mhm, if you say so. Just know that I'm always there for you, and you can talk to me, ok?"

"Yeah, thank you." He forced a smile.

After finishing breakfast, he gathered his stuff and lunch and made his way out the door. He noticed that their car wasn't in the driveway anymore and panicked for a second. Then he realized his dad might have taken it to the store, but didn't know why he would do that. He went back inside just to confirm with his mom.

"Hey ma, did dad take the car?"

"Yeah, I think he did." She said glancing back at him from the chair.

"Did he say why?"

"No honey, he left before I could ask, just ask him when you get there."

"Yeah ok, bye ma."

"Bye, be safe!"

Naruto left and tried his best to think positive and keep a positive mindset. He couldn't be too morose as his job entailed dealing with strangers. On his way to the store, he saw kids biking on colourful bikes and thought of getting a bike himself after he saved up a bit. He just wasn't having it with the sun. He felt irritated by summer today. The thin layer of sweat building up, the subtle sound of insects wherever he went. The burning of his foot when it occasionally slipped out of his flip flop and hit the pavement, he felt too overwhelmed, like he was feeling every tiny little thing happening around him.

After reaching the store the first thing he did was stand directly in front of the air conditioner as he felt his sweat dry cool. He thought it was the best feeling in the world at that moment.

"Wow, you're that hot huh?" Said his dad from behind the counter.

"Yeah, I just don't feel right."

"Well, you better start feeling right because you're not gonna be with me today."

"What? What do you mean by that?" Naruto looked back at him in confusion while still taking in the cold air.

"I was talking to Fugaku and I told him you'd help him out with something."

"Huh? Why would you do that? I know absolutely nothing about flowers."

"Don't worry, you don't have to help at the shop, you have t-"

"Then what?" He just got more confused as this conversation progressed.

"Oi! If only you wouldn't interrupt me. Fugaku is concerned about his son, apparently, he isn't too sociable and because he's new, he has no friends either. He thinks maybe you can make an impression on him somehow and become his friend." His dad explained.

"Ok, I guess I understand but I don't even know if that kid can be friends with anyone. I saw him at their shop the other day and he didn't even make small talk with me." Naruto frowned a bit.

"I see. That's exactly why you're going to hang out with him today." Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Excuse me?" He was now facing fully towards Minato.

"Yeah, that's why I brought the car, so I could get gas before I gave it to you."

"I'm still confused, why did you ever think this was a good idea? I have friends but that doesn't mean I'm some kind of a friendship fairy!" Naruto was panicking. After finally throwing out the idea of friendship with Sasuke, he was put in that situation yet again. This time, it was unwillingly.

"Calm down Naruto, you only have to try once. Also as an apology to put you in this sudden position, I won't cut your pay for today. Is that ok now?" His dad tilted his head.

"Fine, I guess I have no choice anyway." He frowned.

"That you don't. Also, you never know, he might be different when he's alone. Fugaku told me that the two of them don't get along too well."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto thought his dad might be right this time. "So what's the plan then?" He asked.

His dad threw the car keys to him.

"You're gonna pick him up. I'm gonna text you the address right now. After that, it's all up to you. You can take him to places you usually go with your friends, show him around town, give him a surfing lesson, I don't know."

"Okay then. See you at home." He took the keys, his bag and made his way to the car.

He put the address in the GPS and it was about a fifteen-minute drive to Sasuke's house. The leather seats were searing hot and scorched the bottom of his thighs.

"Fuck! Ow, ouch." Naruto didn't swear too much so that had to have hurt bad.

He put music on from his phone and started driving towards his destination. On his drive, he tried his best to go as slow as he could to prepare himself for what would probably be the most awkward day of his life. He hated being put in a position like this, but he had no choice. He rolled down his side of the window to get some fresh air and looked outside as he was crossing a tiny bridge over the river. He had never been to this side of town before. It seemed like a completely different place. The air was a bit cooler and fresher, the sun seemed to be more forgiving too. Even after his surroundings made him feel more relaxed, Naruto's brain wasn't in the most suitable place. He was constantly overthinking about what was going to happen. His brain ran through numerous potential situations he could be put in, in a matter of minutes.

He hadn't even thought of his appearance yet. He was wearing his work clothes, which were just regular but it's not what he preferred to wear with his friends. It was time for a haircut, his hair was growing longer too. Also, he was wearing flip flops. At that moment he realized that he had to stop dressing like he was going to the beach every single day and get some new clothes.

He was just a couple of minutes away from Sasuke's house. So he stopped the car and got down to clean it a little, to be extra prepared. He also checked upon himself in the mirror to make sure his face looked fine.

He got back in the car and pulled into the right street, he was trying to look for the house number when he saw someone sitting on the porch stairs a bit ahead. He took a deep breath as he stopped his car right in front of Sasuke. He was in beige shorts and a black t-shirt, sitting with his knees close to his chest, smoking a cigarette. His hair looked like a mess because of the wind and he was listening to music and looking at his phone.

Naruto closed his eyes just once more and rolled down the other window.

"Hey!" He shouted to get Sasuke's attention in his first attempt.

Sasuke looked up and looked at him with no expression. He killed his half-smoked cigarette on the cement and flicked it away as he got up. He took out his earphones, grabbed his bag from beside the stairs and walked to the car. He opened the door and sat inside. He said nothing to Naruto and simply looked out of the window. Naruto noticed that Sasuke was subconsciously peeling the skin from beside his nails, indicating that he was anxious as well. This made him feel a bit more comfortable.

At this point, Naruto had no clue about what to do or say, so he quietly started driving.


	5. 5.

Naruto and Sasuke were in the car together. Sasuke was beside Naruto. Naruto was driving and couldn't stop thinking of the fact that Sasuke was sitting beside him, at this moment. All of his feelings from before picking him up were now heightened. Driving the car while simultaneously hyper-feeling everything around him was getting difficult. The tension in the car was thick as slime and was getting thicker by the second. Sasuke still hadn't said a word, and Naruto was too nervous to start a conversation.

Sasuke had now folded his arms on the window and had his head leaning on his hands, staring outside and taking in all the wind. Sasuke didn't really care about anything or anyone in life too much, so he didn't care about this situation either. He just did what he wanted. He sat back upright and took his bag in his lap as Naruto observed his actions in increments.

"Can I smoke in the car?" He asked Naruto as he looked at him.

"I don't know what to say. Yes but just try to keep the smoke out of the car."

"Ok."

He took out a semi-squished pack of cigarettes and put one between his lips and lit it with a beige coloured lighter. He had to try to light it multiple times, as the wind kept putting out the flame. He took a large puff and kept his face as well as his hand outside the window, respecting Naruto's wishes.

As Sasuke was now the one that made the first move, Naruto felt more confident to say something else.

"Are you hungry? We can go grab lunch first." Naruto asked him as his hand tightened on the wheel.

"Sure." Sasuke said while looking outside the window.

"Do you like barbecue or ramen better?" Even though Naruto didn't mind the short responses, he was surely getting tired of them.

"It doesn't matter."

Not again, thought Naruto. He was in the mood for ramen, so ramen it was. He drove to the ramen shop without exchanging another word with Sasuke the whole time. He was losing it. He wanted Sasuke to enjoy and not be his usual bland self, but at the same time, he was getting tired of being the only one putting in an effort.

He parked his car in one of the parking spots at Ichiraku Ramen.

"We're here." Said Naruto as he opened his door.

Sasuke put his bag over the shoulder and got out of the car as well. They both went inside as Naruto held open the door for Sasuke. They sat on the counter seats beside each other and waited for someone to ask for their order. Sasuke was now looking at Naruto while nervously fiddling with the case of his phone. Sitting near the kitchen made Sasuke feel warm and cozy, since he was always cold, even in the summers. The number of people and the constant chattering in the back also made him feel invisible alongside Naruto.

"Umm, can you order for me? Since I don't know what's good here." Sasuke said to Naruto in his usual whisper-quiet voice.

His voice was too quiet for Naruto at the moment. Between all the loud noises and feeling the heat from the kitchen, he tried, but couldn't even read his lips. He leaned forward, the top of his ear almost touching Sasuke's lips and his chin lightly brushing Sasuke's neck.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't hear you with all this noise, what were you saying?"

Sasuke had never had anyone come this close to him unless it was a hug from one of his family members. And those were also scarce these days. He felt uneasy but he didn't want to react abruptly. Naruto had no idea that he was stepping into and disturbing Sasuke's personal space. He just acted at the moment without thinking twice.

"I should've been louder. I was just asking you to order for me since I don't know what's good here." Sasuke moved his torso back a bit and said in his normal voice since Naruto was already so close to him.

"Oh yeah of course, but do you have any preferences?" Naruto asked as he backed up to his original position.

"Not really." Sasuke looked down at the bar table.

"Ok, I'll just get you what I order then." Said Naruto with a little smile.

Sasuke felt his nerves calm down after Naruto had moved back again. He was a little surprised that Naruto was being kind to him, especially after behaving how he was. But Sasuke wasn't just going to change his personality because he was with someone new. That's just how he was, so that's exactly how he should come off. After today, he had no intention of hanging out with Naruto again anyway, he thought to himself.

Naruto got a little excited again as Sasuke was the one to start a conversation even if it only lasted less than a minute. But he was still disappointed in his unwillingness to open up more. He remembered thinking that Sasuke might be different alone, away from his dad, but that didn't seem to be the case at all.

Soon, their meals were handed to them.

"Let me know if you like it or not, or you can get something else." Naruto said as he separated his chopsticks and started slurping the delicious ramen.

"Mhm." Sasuke murmured and followed Naruto's actions.

Naruto was the first one to finish the meal. He started scrolling on his phone after and would occasionally glance at Sasuke eating. He thought Sasuke was extremely serious about eating from the look on his face, but then again, that's just how he looked all the time.

As Naruto noticed Sasuke drinking the last of the broth, he questioned,

"So, did you like it then?"

"It was good." He replied while wiping his mouth with a napkin.

This response was enough for Naruto.

They split the bill and exited the restaurant. As soon as they stepped out, Sasuke took out the pack of cigarettes and his lighter again. Naruto didn't like anyone smoking, and this was Sasuke's third smoke in his presence today.

"Why do you smoke?" Naruto blurted out. Realizing that he might have overstepped, he looked away for a second and then faced Sasuke again.

"I don't know how to answer that." Sasuke realized that maybe he shouldn't have kept his habit when he's with a stranger and put his cigarettes and lighter away.

"Ok." Naruto didn't want to push him, as he knew that Sasuke was already out of his comfort zone.

They both sat back down in the car. Before starting the car and driving off again, Naruto wanted to ask Sasuke what he wanted to do now since there were multiple options.

"So, what d-"

"Can you pl-"

They both started their sentences at the same time. Sasuke immediately looked down and closed his eyes tightly, and then looked towards the window. He expected Naruto to speak first.

"Don't worry haha, you can go first." Naruto chuckled to lighten the mood.

He wanted Sasuke to be as comfortable as possible. Naruto was slowly understanding Sasuke's actual position. He was in a new town, where he knew no one. He didn't get along much with his family either. And his personality definitely didn't help him in these circumstances. He realized that he'd behave similarly to Sasuke if put in a comparable position.

"Um, I was just gonna ask if you could drop me home now."

"Yeah, ok." Naruto forced a small fake smile and turned on the car.

"Thanks." Sasuke turned towards the window again.

Naruto's stomach had immediately dropped. He didn't know what he expected but it wasn't that. His brain started going into a downward spiral of overthinking. He thought maybe it was his fault for asking about his habit. But he didn't think Sasuke to be petty like that. He was left in disappointment, yet again. This wasn't enough for him. He had hopes that had already been shattered. Then earlier today, the hope came back, and he was sure it would lead to a casual friendship in the least. He had no choices now, he knew he couldn't ask Sasuke to stay out with him longer. They weren't close enough, Naruto didn't even consider them acquaintances at this point. On the inside he knew this was it, there was nothing more he could do, and whatever small relation they had, would be gone anyway.

While driving, Naruto's heart swayed in the maroon melancholy they both seemed to share. The tension in the car had turned into a dim, invisible fog. Even the weather was affected by their mood. Dark clouds had gathered and drops of rain started appearing on the glass. The humidity was off the charts and only increased the icky feeling. Naruto rolled up both the windows as it started pouring down heavily. The rain and the sound of the wipers eliminated the ringing silence in the car. Since Naruto was the only one who shared an ounce of his emotions, his dullness affected everything around him as well.

After reaching Sasuke's house, Naruto unlocked the car doors.

"Bye." He said after turning towards Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at him, avoiding eye contact and waved with his hand before quickly opening the door and leaving the car. He jogged towards the stairs as it was still pouring outside. Naruto was waiting for him to enter the house before he left, but he noticed Sasuke just standing there for a second.

"Wait.." Sasuke said. He tried to voice it louder so that Naruto could hear him through the rain.

Naruto thought Sasuke might've forgotten something, so he rolled down his window. Raindrops falling through into his hair and on his face. He made a questioned face at Sasuke.

Sasuke's stomach was churning. He was drenched in a matter of seconds because of the drastic rainfall. His hair was wet, sticking to the front of his face, dripping water. His shirt now looked like it was fitted as it stuck to his body. The water made him feel colder than usual, making him nauseous. But he just stood there in the pouring rain.

"Can we do this again?" Sasuke finally heaved it out.

His voice, the same. His expression, the same. He looked unhinged by the rain, thought Naruto. He thought he had an aneurysm from the endorphins his brain produced when Sasuke spoke.

It took him a second, but a smile finally escaped from Naruto's lips, as he responded,

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys , if you're reading my fic , and like Wattpad better , its also available there , and since there are limited number of people reading it atm , i'd love to get feedback and interact with some of you , so if you can leave comment on the fic, i'd really appreciate it! also ik i posted 5 chapters already but i started writing it on wattpad first, but i'll be updating every 3-4 days now ( i'll try to be as fast as i can ) cuz i didn't plan this story at all and im creating it as i write it ( + i wanna make it super good ) but i promise im gonna complete it! (also if it wasn't obvious, im new to ao3 so i'd also love some fluff recs + and any helpful tips) 
> 
> ty! (●’◡’●)


	6. 6.

Naruto drove home in the best mood he’d had in a while. He was so happy that he wanted to embrace the rain. He drove to the beach before he went home. He knew it was too risky to swim but he just wanted to stroll on the cool wet sand and drown in the rain. He parked and sprinted towards the empty beach. Before entering the sand he took off his flip flops, holding them in his hand. He ran again to the edge where the sand and water met. He just stood there a while mesmerized by the enormous waves crashing because of the storm. It was so pleasing and peaceful for him. The water felt a little colder than usual but he didn’t mind it. He just felt genuine contentment at this moment as he looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes to avoid raindrops, and to drink some of the rain. Soon, the wind made him shiver and he didn’t want to catch a cold. He ran back to his car and dried himself off with a towel. There was always one in the car since he’d go surfing so often. He sat back down and started driving towards his house. He blasted some of his favourite songs in the car and sang along crazily on his way. 

After reaching home, he ran straight to his room and for a warm shower to clean up. Naruto needed the water to be boiling and he liked taking long showers. He couldn’t stop smiling. He stood there under the hot water thinking about the adrenaline he felt by making a new friend. Naruto didn’t have to make any new friends, as all of his friends from childhood went to the same schools as he did so this was a little fresh for him. He was so excited that Sasuke and he exchanged numbers before he left. But again he didn’t know if he should text first or not since he was fearful of being a bother. He didn’t even know when Sasuke would like to hang out next or what he enjoyed doing. 

He got out of the shower and wiped himself dry but those thoughts didn’t abandon him. He put on some loose sweats and jumped into bed. He stared at the ceiling for about ten seconds before his phone buzzed.

Sasuke?

No. It was one of his group chats. As he opened the chat and scrolled through, he caught up on what all of his friends were going off about. They were all making plans to hang out the day after tomorrow, all of them together. 

Hinata: _So what should we do then?_

Sakura: _And everyone’s free that day for sure right? I don’t want any excuses later._

Shikamaru: _Yes but Naruto hasn’t said anything yet, shouldn’t we wait till he replies?_

Naruto: _I’m here now and I’m free! So what’s the plan?_

Shikamaru: _It’s such a drag to figure that out._

Hinata: _Hey Naruto!_

Sakura: _Hi!_

Kiba: _Naruto why do you never chat with us? :/_

Lee: _It feels like everyone’s here after so long!_

Naruto: _Guys just decide and let me know the plan ok? Also, is it ok if I bring someone?_

Naruto thought maybe he could invite Sasuke as well, so he could make some more friends since he’ll be attending the same school as them. 

Sakura: _Ooh, who is it? Is it a girl?_

Kiba: _Naruto? Getting girls? There’s no way._

Naruto: _Oi Kiba I could get girls if I tried ok? And no, it’s nothing like that, my dad's friend just moved to town and his son is gonna go to our school after summer. It’s just him, so he can make friends with all of you._

Hinata: _Oh wait I think I remember. Is it that guy from the flower shop?_

Naruto: _Yeah that’s him._

Sakura: _Yeah yeah Naruto, you can invite whoever you want, now can we please decide what we’re gonna do after we meet up?_

Lee: _Yeah ok ok, first everyone gives one idea and then we’ll go from there._

With that Naruto decided to leave that conversation as his brain was too preoccupied with other thoughts. He kept thinking about texting Sasuke, and how he would phrase the invite to hang out with his group. He was sure it would be totally fine if he was just himself, as to sense the tone behind a text is tough anyways. He didn’t want to seem eager so he decided to wait until night to text Sasuke. He needed to take steps at Sasuke's pace. He decided to give his heart and mind a break from the rollercoaster of emotions they felt today by taking a nap. 

  
  


Naruto suddenly heard a buzzing from beside his pillow. For some reason, it was his mom calling him.

“Ma? Why are you calling me? You know I’m home.” Naruto said in his sleepy voice while sitting on his bed.

“It’s literally 7, it’s time for dinner, I’ve been calling your name for the last five minutes! Come down now.”

“Sorry, I’ll be down right away.”

Naruto didn’t recognize how long of a nap he had taken. It had been three full hours. He realized that he’d woken up in the same position as to how he went to bed, so that must have been some decent sleep. He quickly put a shirt on, splashed some water on his face and went down for dinner with his family. 

“Finally! Did you go to bed or something?” Kushina asked with her eyes wide and eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, I was kind of exhausted, and I just woke up when you called me.”

The family sat down for food. Naruto was quietly relishing supper when his dad started asking questions about today.

“So?” His dad questioned.

“So?” Naruto glanced up from his bowl and then back at it.

His mom just glared at the two of them without a clue.

“You’re so dense Naruto. I’m asking if you made friends with him or not.”

“Oh ok I get it now, in my defence I just woke up and it feels like a different day now. But yeah, kind of. He was his usual self but he didn’t seem to mind me.” 

“That’s good then, I’m sure Fugaku would be glad to hear it.”

“Yeah, I’m planning on inviting him to hang out with the whole group day after tomorrow, if he’s comfortable.”

“I think that’s a great idea, hopefully, he’ll be fine with it.” Minato resumed his meal.

“Ok I think I finally know what’s going on now, you’re talking about Sasuke right?” His mom finally caught on.

“Yeah.” Naruto and Minato said in unison.

After dinner Naruto did the dishes and still disoriented from his overpowering nap, he wished his parents goodnight and went to his room earlier than usual. He concluded that it was finally time to text Sasuke if he wanted to hang with the whole group. Before doing that, he checked the group chat to confirm what plans they’d landed on. He found out that everyone had agreed to hang out and get brunch at the summer market in the main part of the town. It was already difficult for all of them to spend time together since everyone had obligations and commitments as they were in their final year of school. So there was no way he was going to miss out on this. 

Naruto: _Hi._

He wanted to wait for Sasuke to reply so he started reading manga while he waited. About fifteen minutes later he finally heard a buzz.

Sasuke: _Hi..._

Naruto: _Are you free the day after tomorrow?_

Sasuke: _I work till 3 but after that I am._

Naruto: _Oh never mind then. I'm gonna hang out with my group of friends during the day, and I wanted to invite you to meet them since you’ll be in school with us after summer. Let me know if you can get out of work though._

Sasuke: _I don’t think that’ll be possible, my dad’s strict about these things._

Naruto: _It’s ok. Talk to you later then. Good night._

Sasuke was a man of fewer words even while texting. Naruto thought this was a missed opportunity for him, his friends and Sasuke. He heard another buzz from his phone.

Sasuke: _Are you free after you hang out with them?_

Naruto: _Yeah, I don’t work that day._

Sasuke: _… Do you want to hang out after then?_

Naruto: _Yeah ok :) I’ll pick you up from the shop._

Sasuke: _Ok, gn._

Naruto: _Gn._

Naruto was joyous, he loved when spontaneous things happened. He buried his face in the pillow, embarrassed of the gigantic smile on his face that he couldn’t wipe off. Why was he feeling this way? It was so unique from anything he had ever felt before. And he definitely hadn't felt like this about merely a friendship at any point in the past. Even with his best friends, he never had this feeling that he contemplates as silly. He’s trying to figure it out, but being a person with a ‘go with the flow’ mindset, he let it go for now. For him, tomorrow, and the day after couldn't come faster. He had no idea what Sasuke wanted to do or where he wanted to go, but he was just happy to be his company. He thought maybe he could take his friends to the shop to see him, but maybe not all of them. He didn’t want to overwhelm Sasuke. He went out the balcony of his room to get some fresh air and stared at the aubergine coloured sky as he decided to listen to music to end his day with.


	7. 7.

The day was finally here. Naruto only had to spend twenty-four hours waiting for this moment but it felt like the longest day of his existence. Naruto and his friends were meeting up at the entrance of the market in downtown at 11 am. Naruto would take forever to pick out his outfits in the summer since he didn’t like wearing shorts too much. He decided on wearing some loose beige linen pants and a baggy black graphic t-shirt. It was ten-thirty already and he still had to pick Shikamaru up. He grabbed his bag and socks from his room and headed downstairs. 

“Hey ma, I’ll be leaving now!”

“Wait! Take a water bottle with you.” She said as she went to grab one in the kitchen.

“Yeah that’s a good idea, and I’ll probably be back around six or seven.” He was now fully ready with shoes on.

“Ok, have fun!” She waved goodbye.

He left and began driving towards Shikamaru's house. Before driving he settled on his usual playlist. Naruto enjoyed keeping windows down while driving or being in the car during summer, even if the air was hot. Most of the time he had the habit of having one elbow on the window and the other hand on the wheel. His dad had told him to not do that but he couldn’t be bothered too much. His hair was lengthier than usual and he hadn’t gotten a chance to cut it still. It held its composure less and kept flowing in the wind and interrupting his vision. Soon, he reached Shikamaru's house as it wasn’t too far from his. He stopped the car right outside his door and got out his phone to text him.

Naruto: _Sorry for being late! I’m here now._

Shikamaru: _Ok ok, I’m coming._

Within a minute Shikamaru was opening the door of his car. 

“What made you late?” Asked Shikamaru with a raised brow.

“Nothing. I just couldn’t pick what to wear.”

With that, they steered towards the market. A couple of minutes in Naruto’s car, Shikamaru started feeling heated. He realized it was because his friend liked the windows open to feel the air. He didn’t say anything because he saw Naruto enjoying himself. He was a really good friend. 

Shortly after, they reached the market and Naruto parked his car in the parking lot. All of their friends were waiting near the entrance as Shikamaru had already notified them about their tardy arrival. As Naruto and Shikamaru approached the group, Hinata ran in for a hug from Naruto.

“Leave it to Naruto to be late but still get a hug.” Said Kiba in his usual demeanour. 

“I’m just that special.” Said Naruto playfully mocking him, even though there was nothing special about this.

That was just their dynamic. They had been competitive and cocky with each other since they were little. But they were still good friends. After everyone greeted Naruto, they started walking in pairs of two. Sakura and Hinata, Lee and Kiba and behind all of them, Naruto and Shikamaru. 

It was a beautiful day to be outside. The sun was out but the clouds would occasionally hide it while drifting. The air was warm but still cooler than usual. The market was in a huge park so they were surrounded by lots of greenery which made them feel refreshed.

“Ok guys, what do you want to grab first?” Sakura turned back and asked all of them.

“Can we get something cool to drink first? I can feel my youth fading.” Lee said while wiping some sweat off of his forehead.

“Haha ok ok, how about this, let’s all eat first and then we can play some of these games. Lee and Kiba, you get the drinks. Naruto and Shikamaru, you guys get the snacks. And Hinata and I will get the hot food. After, everyone meets at that red table ok?” Sakura assigned everyone their tasks. She was truly the one to keep them all in line and together.

Everyone dispersed to complete their duties. Naruto and Shikamaru started searching for where they could get some snack foods. Shikamaru pointed out a corn dog stall. They both agreed that corn dogs would be a decent idea. They walked over and placed their large order as the cook told them it would take some time so they should sit and wait. 

Naruto and Shikamaru took a seat on an elevated step beside the stall.

“Hinata seemed pretty excited to see you.” Shikamaru remarked.

“Yeah. She’s always like that, even when it’s just me and her hanging out.” Naruto faced him and smiled.

“Naruto. How clueless are you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Naruto made a clueless face, the irony.

“Don’t you see it? Hinata likes you.” Naruto genuinely didn’t believe this was true, so he started laughing it off.

“No, she doesn’t, what makes you think that?” He was still laughing it off. 

“You have to be kidding me. The way she is around you is all anyone needs to see to believe it. Everyone in the group thinks that too I’m pretty sure.” Shikamaru said with some hand gestures.

“No, it’s not. I can’t believe everyone else thinks that too. She’s just been like that ever since we all were small.”

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows when Naruto said that. Naruto still made a questioned face. His friend sighed and brought his palm to his face. 

“You’re just giving yourself proof at this point. She’s been liking you ever since.” 

“Wait-” 

“Why do you think Kiba’s jealous of you?” Shikamaru made yet another point.

“What the hell is up with you today? You’re saying all these things that I’ve never heard before.” Naruto was still laughing.

“Ugh, what a drag to make you understand Naruto. Kiba’s playful cockiness is his hidden jealousy because he likes Hinata, but she likes you.” Shikamaru was getting agitated now because this stupid fool was refusing to understand anything. 

“I think I just refuse to believe you. I think it’s just your imagination.” Naruto looked him right in the eye and said it.

“Fine. Whatever I guess.” 

They got the corn dogs and made their way to the table. Kiba and Lee were already sitting there waiting for everyone with drinks. Naruto and Shikamaru also took their seats as they placed the food in the middle of the table. Shortly after, Sakura and Hinata also joined them with some sizzling seafood dishes. Everyone started enjoying their food and conversing about their lives. Halfway through his meal, Naruto dropped one of his chopsticks on the ground.

“Oh well. Guys, I’ll be right back. I just dropped one of my chopsticks on the ground.” Naruto said as he backed up his chair.

“Oh don’t worry you can use mine, since we're all sharing the food anyway.” Hinata said as she was sitting right beside him.

“You baby him too much, he can go get himself some chopsticks.” Kiba said from the opposite side of their table. 

“Yeah it’s fine, the stall is right there, I’ll just go get some.” He smiled at Hinata. 

As he turned around, he saw Shikamaru making a face with his eyebrow raised right beside him, noticing what had just happened. Naruto made his way to the stall. He started thinking about his relationship with Kiba and Hinata. He had never thought about Hinata in that way. But should he be romantically thinking about her? He never recognized that her feelings might be something more than friendly. Naruto was inexperienced in this aspect of life, to say the least. He was terrible at figuring out anything concerning romance. 

The rest of his time with his friends was very pleasant. They had fun playing some games and Lee even won a stuffed toy at one of the stalls. Everyone was feeling bittersweet by the time they had to depart. They knew they didn’t have too many days like this left and wanted to savour them more. Naruto and Shikamaru made their way to his car.

“Hey, is there any way you can walk home from our convenience store?” Naruto asked Shikamaru.

“Yeah for sure, and I forgot to ask but weren’t you gonna bring that guy who works at the flower shop?”

“Yeah, but he was working today. Actually, you know what, this is perfect, I’m hanging out with him for a little bit right now, this way you guys can meet each other.” Naruto got excited.

“Ok, I don’t mind. I’ll grab some flowers for Temari since we're going on a walk tonight.” Shikamaru smiled.

“Aww, how’s it going with you guys?” Naruto asked as they both opened the car doors.

“Honestly, really good. She’s a little bit of a tsundere, but I like a challenge.”

“That’s cute.” He smiled at Shikamaru and started the car.

They started driving when Shikamaru finally couldn’t resist asking this question anymore.

“So… what are you going to do about Hinata?”

“I think I owe you an apology. I was clueless, but after you told me, I suddenly started seeing everything.” Naruto shrugged a little.

“I don’t like to say I told you so, but I did.” 

“I don’t know what to do, to be honest. I’m asking for your help here. I’ve never dealt with anything like this before!”

“Calm down. This is nothing to worry too much about. First off, do you feel that way about Hinata?” 

“I don’t know. I don’t think so? I’ve never given it a thought like that. And I certainly wouldn’t wanna ruin the friendship we have. Also, since we talk about everything, can I tell you something?” Naruto got nervous.

“You’re scaring me a little, but go ahead.”

“Oh my god. Ok, here it goes. I think I don’t only like girls…” Naruto pinched his eyes shut and then realized he was driving.

“Huh? What?” Naruto’s statement completely went over Shikamaru’s head. 

“I think… I might like guys too.” Naruto wished he wouldn’t have to explain more.

“You’re serious? Where did this come from? I mean I support you no matter what but I can’t say that I’m not surprised.” Shikamaru’s eyes were wide open.

“I know, I know. I surprised myself too.” Naruto felt more open. Telling someone else how he feels meant he, himself had accepted these feelings as well. 

Naruto had now parked the car outside Uchiha Florist. 

“So when did you realize this? Do you like someone?” Shikamaru only got more curious.

“I think my slow ass just realized this like a couple of days ago. I don’t really like anyone, I mean I don’t think I have any confidence right now to tell you more about this.” Naruto hid his face in between his palms.

“Don’t worry. I have no desire to force a confession out of you. You can tell me more whenever you feel comfortable.”

“Thanks, you’re honestly the best.” Said Naruto with a true appreciation for his friend.

Naruto was late to pick up Sasuke, but he had texted him and Sasuke had replied with, “It’s fine.” They both made their way into the flower shop. Shikamaru picked a couple of pink roses and both of them made their way to the cash desk. No one was there so Naruto rang the bell. A few seconds later, Sasuke came from the back with his apron on and everything.

“Hey, umm this is my friend Shikamaru, and Shikamaru, this is Sasuke.” Naruto’s hands were sweating as this was sort of awkward and he was nervous.

“Hi!” Said Shikamaru.

“Hi.” Replied Sasuke. He wrapped the two roses with a ribbon and handed Shikamaru the change.

“Well, I should take off now but hopefully we can meet again and talk more some other day.” Shikamaru was good at handling situations like these. 

“See ya later Naruto and nice to meet you.” He said as he reached the door and both Naruto and Sasuke waved goodbye to him. 

Both of them shared a comfortable silence for a few seconds.

“So… are you ready to go?” Naruto asked while nervously looking around.

“Yeah, just a second.” Sasuke disappeared behind the door to the back and came back without his apron and with his bag. 

“Let’s go.” Said Sasuke as he led the way outside.

Naruto craved to get more emotion from him. He hoped that Sasuke would open up a bit more to him today. Even if it was just an eyebrow raise, a little smile or a change of pitch in his voice. They both sat down in the car when Naruto realized they hadn’t decided on a plan.

“What do you want to do today?” Naruto asked, looking at him.

“I still don't know much about the town. You can just take me wherever.” Naruto didn’t know how to respond to this.

“Do you like the beach?” 

“I haven’t been to the beach here yet.”

“We can go there, it’s one of my favourite places.” Naruto said, showing a little excitement.

“Ok.” 

Naruto started driving towards the beach. With windows down of course. Sasuke seemed to enjoy this too as he kept his head poking a little to the outside. Sasuke tied his hair into a tiny ponytail except for the front pieces which wouldn’t fit. Naruto just tried to make the best out of his hair constantly interrupting him.

Once he reached and parked the car he opened the tiny mirror from the top to fix the mess his hair had made. Sasuke took out his ponytail, and his hair looked the same, not shabby. As Naruto was tossing around and putting his hands through his hair, he started talking to himself out loud and said,

“I really gotta get it cut soon.” 

“Why?” Sasuke blurted out, immediately regretting it.

“I’ve just never had hair this long before. And it keeps coming on my face when I drive.” Naruto said, looking at Sasuke through the mirror. 

“I like… umm I mean, it looks good like this.” Sasuke said and looked outside to avoid any eye contact.

Naruto’s eyes grew wide. Did Sasuke just compliment him?

“Thanks… but I’ll still just get it trimmed a little or my dad won’t like it either.” He was flustered. He didn’t know what else to say.

“Umm… if you want, I can cut it for you.” Sasuke said looking down, still avoiding looking at Naruto.

“Really? You can cut hair too?”

“Well, I always trim my own and my brother's hair.”

“Great, you can cut mine then.” Said Naruto. He knew this meant that it was guaranteed that they would hang out again, soon.

“Ok.” 

Naruto surely thought that Sasuke was getting more confident to open up, and he loved it. He loved seeing Sasuke get more comfortable with him. He felt special.


	8. 8.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys, if you like anime music or japanese music in general, i have some song recommendations to listen to while or after reading this chapter to get an idea of what i want this story to feel like. disclaimer: these songs can be emotional... 
> 
> Hetakuso by Given / Centimillimental  
> Bokuradakenoshudaika by Given / Centimillimental  
> Doukyuusei by Kotaro Oshio

They got out of the car and started walking towards the sand. Naruto was leading the way and Sasuke was following him. They both took off their shoes and socks and folded their pants up to their mid-shin beforehand. They started walking slowly along the water, just barely soaking their feet and them digging in the wet sand. The sun was still bright but slowly nearing the horizon and the sky was bright orange with chemtrails and clouds that looked neon. The air was even more forgiving near the water and there was also a light breeze. The water reflected the sky, it appeared darker with warm highlights and little waves shining like liquid diamonds. It was a beautiful evening. Sasuke kept a two feet distance from Naruto while walking behind him, keeping his head down looking at their footprints. Naruto came to an abrupt stop and so did Sasuke. Naruto turned and looked to the horizon, a big smile escaped his lips. Sasuke looked at him for a couple of seconds before turning towards the beautiful ocean and taking the view in. 

"Have you ever tried surfing?" Naruto asked.

"No, I've never lived near the ocean before." They were both still looking at the gradual sunset.

"I can try teaching you if you want."

"But I'm not very athletic."

"That's ok. I'm not a pro or anything like that. You don't need to be athletic to do the basics."

"Ok, I'd like to try it then."

"Yeah, we can start whenever you have the time."

"Ok."

After just standing like that for a few minutes, Sasuke rolled up his pants more and started taking a few steps in the water. The water was warm and comfortable. Even though he had rolled up his pants further, they were still drowning a bit because of the inconsistent waves. After a few seconds, Naruto did the same and stood beside Sasuke. As the sun began setting, the tides slowly got more violent. Sasuke started feeling cold and backed up towards the sand, leaving Naruto being the only one with his legs still in the water. He picked a spot with dry sand and sat down lightly with knees to his chest, hugging them. He was looking towards the horizon and occasionally glancing at Naruto's back. He could tell how pleased Naruto was, just to be there. Naruto had his eyes closed and his body was swaying and adjusting with the water. His skin was a little tan and was glistening in the sun. This is when Naruto was caught off guard and water from a tiny wave splashed on his face and torso. Sasuke's eyes went wide at this as he was observing Naruto and then he started to giggle a bit, trying to cover his face with his palm, and a laugh escaped his mouth. Naruto turned back at the sound of someone's laughter, water dripping from his partly wet t-shirt. He was amazed that it was Sasuke. This was the first time Naruto had seen Sasuke genuinely smile, and not just that, but laugh. He just stared at him when something fluttered in his stomach. Sasuke opened his eyes and saw Naruto looking at him and immediately tried to stop his light giggle. Naruto then realized that he was staring and changed his expression quickly into a light chuckle. Sasuke was embarrassed and ducked his head down between his arms. Naruto walked over to where Sasuke was sitting and took a seat beside him with his legs crossed.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke said with his face still hidden.

"What for?" Asked Naruto, looking over his head.

"For laughing, you seemed like you were having the best time and then that wave just caught you off guard."

"No, I thought it was funny too. You don't have to say sorry for laughing." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke raised his head back up, looking in Naruto's direction, unaware that Naruto was still looking at him. As soon as he realized that Naruto was looking at him as well, he turned his head towards the beautiful sunset. Naruto looked away too. Naruto put his hands on the sand behind his back and leaned back a bit. He looked up at the sky, wondering what he was feeling and then looked back down and observed Sasuke's actions. He was hugging his knees tightly and appeared lost in thought as he wasn't blinking much. His toes were lightly making digging movements in the sand.

"What are you thinking about?" Sasuke had already opened up to Naruto today, a lot more than usual. Naruto was just pushing his luck at this point.

Sasuke looked back at him and said, "Nothing important."

After a couple of seconds of staring at each other with no words, Sasuke turned his head back towards the front. Naruto was captivated by what he saw in Sasuke's eyes. The colour of his eyes looked so different in the golden setting sun. They looked like pots of dark honey. A lot different than what he remembered them as when he saw Sasuke for the first time. He could also see all of the sky's hues in them. The specks of purple and orange and how they sparkled a little when they reflected the water.

Sasuke felt similar. It was always an experience for him when he saw Naruto's eyes. Naruto had blue eyes with brown and amber streaks near the pupils. He had never seen eyes like that before. They were always bright, even during the dark, which was something different than his own. His own eyes looked like black coffee most of the time.

"I'm a little thirsty, do you wanna grab something refreshing? They have great drinks at the shack." Naruto said, halting the tension between them.

"Ok, and could you tell me the time please, I left my phone in the car."

"Uh yeah, it's almost 6:15."

"Oh shit, sorry, I told my dad I'd be home by now." Sasuke said as he got up and wiped off the sand from his clothes.

"That's fine, we can leave right away." Naruto got up and followed his actions.

Sasuke felt guilty to make him rush always. He kept looking down.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry for always rushing you."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled at Sasuke.

They both shook their legs when they stepped on the pavement to get rid of the sand on the bottom of their feet. Naruto opened the trunk as Sasuke leaned on the car beside theirs. He took out a towel and gave it to Sasuke to dry his legs, and used another one to do the same for himself. They both were staring at the ocean before Naruto took a turn that faced away from the water. Before they knew, Naruto had already parked the car outside Sasuke's house. Sasuke had lightly passed out on the window with his arms crossed but woke up when he felt the car stop. Sasuke got out of the car, walked to the porch and turned around to wave Naruto goodbye.

"It's supposed to rain for a couple of days I think, so the surfing might have to wait." Naruto said from inside the car.

"That's ok. Text me when you want to come over for the haircut."

"Ok, I will let you know!" Naruto sounded ecstatic.

"Bye." Sasuke said with the smallest smile Naruto had seen and waved at him.

"Bye." Naruto smiled and started his car.

He kept his eye on Sasuke through his side mirror till he reached the end of his street. He knew it. He knew what his feelings were. This wasn't typical. He didn't know what to do. If he should act on them or not. He still had to reveal to his parents that he might be interested in boys as well. But he wasn't prepared for the questions he'd have to answer. He knew that his parents were super supportive but things like this are never easy. He didn't know if he liked Sasuke, but he knew there was something there. Something different than just friendship. He also hadn't considered that this feeling might be one-sided. All of these things made his brain hurt. But he knew one thing he had to do before things got complicated, and that was to talk to Hinata. He knew he had to clear things up with her before any observations were made or anything unprecedented happened. Plus they had a good relationship, and he didn't want to hide anything or ruin it by not communicating.

"I'm home!" He announced as he opened the door.

"Freshen up and come down, dinner will be ready soon. And your dad's cooking today." His mom said from the couch.

He went upstairs and went straight to the bathroom to clean his feet properly first. He then changed into his pyjamas and took a seat on his desk chair. He was staring at his reflection on the black phone screen, contemplating whether he should text Hinata or not.

He decided on just getting it over with.

Naruto: _Hey, it's important. Can we talk?_

He sat his phone down on the table and started biting his nails out of nervousness. He heard a buzz. It was Hinata, she replied right away.

Hinata: _Of course, what's going on?_

Naruto: _There's no right way to ask this so I'm just going to rip the bandaid. Do you have feelings for me?_

Naruto was shrieking on the inside. He wanted to curl up in a ball and float away outside of the atmosphere.

Hinata: _Will it hurt the relationship we have now if I say yes?_

Naruto: _Of course not. I'd like to think our bond is better than that._

Hinata: _Ok, then yes, I do like you. Did Shikamaru tell you?_

Naruto: _Yes, only because I was too dumb to notice for myself._

Hinata: _But what do you feel? I won't be sad if it's not mutual, so don't worry about that._

Naruto: _I wish it was mutual. You're the best girl in my life and I couldn't do better than you. But I've just never seen you that way, we'll always be best friends you know._

Hinata: _I understand, and it's totally fine. You can't help how you feel and I can't either. But I'm so glad you initiated this conversation because I would never be able to convey my feelings to you. And honestly, this will help me move on too._

Naruto knew that despite what she said, she was hurting. He just pictured her being all sad and it brought down his mood severely as well. He was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say now.

Hinata: _Knowing you, you're probably overthinking it. DON'T WORRY. I will be fine, and I'll kick your ass if you act awkward the next time we see each other._

Naruto: _You know me too well, and I won't be awkward, I promise :)_

Hinata: _Ok good._

That went better than the wild situations Naruto had imagined in his head. Even though Hinata didn't seem affected, he knew she was. He decided that he would refrain from seeing her in person for a few days to give her a break, and to give her space to work out her feelings. But this conversation had lifted a huge weight off of his body. He felt a sense of relief. He decided to update Shikamaru on the situation, as he was the one that helped him sort out this mess. This was a good day for him, he felt liberated.


	9. 9.

A couple of days passed by and work kept Naruto busy. He was exhausted and didn't even text any of his friends. He deliberately didn't text Sasuke. Spending some time alone, he thought a lot about what path he wanted their friendship to go. Even though he felt a sort of attraction towards Sasuke, he didn't know his feelings for sure. He didn't know how Sasuke felt either. Maybe Sasuke was just enjoying their friendship. Naruto didn't know much about him. He didn't want to get attached too quickly as things might go south in the future. For now, he wanted to build their friendship normally and wanted to avoid the tension that was always present in the room when they were together. Although he couldn't deny that being with Sasuke gave him a head rush.

It was 10 am when Naruto woke up. He didn't have work today, so he brushed his teeth, changed and got ready for the beach. It wasn't sunny today, it was more overcast and humid. The weather indicated that it might rain later. It had rained every day since he last saw Sasuke. He drove to the beach hoping it wouldn't start raining. When he reached, it was still dry but the clouds were starting to gather a little bit. He got ready, waxed his board and headed towards the waves. The ocean water looked darker as it reflected the sky. The waves were a bit more harsh than usual, but Naruto could handle it. He wasn't scared of the water, and he loved embracing nature however it came at him. The beach was less crowded, he could hear the waves crashing, the sound of seagulls, the lull when the wind took an intermission. It felt grounding but also filled him with adrenaline. He rode the waves for a while before he got tired of getting knocked down. He sat down and rested on the dry sand, slowly trying to build something to pass some time. When he was fulfilled with his experience, he went to his car, dried himself off, and changed back to his normal clothes. Before driving home, he grabbed a can of coffee from the vending machine as he hadn't had breakfast this morning. Sipping coffee and driving, he arrived home and went straight for a shower to get rid of the extra sand.

Since he could see himself spending the rest of his day indoors, he thought this might be the perfect opportunity to get that haircut. He had also given Sasuke some space, and it would be an appropriate time to see him again. He grabbed his phone with excitement and took a seat on his bed.

Naruto: _Hey, are you free today?_

He didn't expect a quick reply from Sasuke but his phone buzzed immediately.

Sasuke: _Hi. Yes, it's my day off today._

Naruto: _Can I come over for the haircut then?_

Sasuke: _Yeah ok, you can come in the evening._

Naruto: _Ok, I'll come around 5 then._

Sasuke: _Ok._

He was eager to see Sasuke, but also curious about how he lived. He'd finally get to see his house and maybe his room and get to know more about him in a way. He went downstairs for lunch, and also to tell his mom about the plan.

"Hey ma, what's for lunch?"

"I made curry buns, they're ready in the kitchen." She said, pausing her movie from the couch.

Naruto served himself a couple of curry buns and joined his mom.

"What are you watching?" Asked Naruto.

"This movie seemed interesting so I just put it on, it's called the Matrix."

"Oh I've heard of that, it's supposed to be very popular I think." Replied Naruto.

"Also um, I'll be going over to Sasuke's place in the evening. He's gonna give my hair a trim. I should be back for dinner."

"Ok ok have fun." His mom was too into the movie to say anything else.

He went back to his room and decided to spend some of his free time doing his summer homework. He started with math, his least favourite, and ended with Japanese, also his least favourite. Doing his homework took quite a bit of time, it was already almost 4 pm. He decided to play on his switch for the rest of the time he had to pass. He got ready and left the house. Just as he opened the car door he felt an early raindrop on his wrist, suggesting that the rainfall was going to start any minute. He started driving towards Sasuke's house. Before he was even halfway there, it started pouring down hard. When he reached, he parked his car outside and ran towards the door with his bag, catching a few raindrops himself. He rang the doorbell and stood there waiting. A couple of seconds later, he heard footsteps and Sasuke opened the door for him. He looked dishevelled but put together at the same time somehow. He was wearing dark baggy clothes and his hair was a mess, but it suited him.

"Come in." He said as Naruto walked in.

Their house was normal, looked very similar to Naruto's. He could tell they still had to unpack and set up some things.

"We can just go up to my room." Sasuke said as he led the way.

Sasuke's room seemed like it belonged not in their house. The light was dimmer. There was a whole section of a wall with dried flowers. The room was full of a sweet aroma coming from the flora. There were miscellaneous plants lined up on the windowsill, and even more in random corners of his room. There were a couple of posters of musicians and a messy desk with paint splatters and some kind of a project going on it. There was mellow music on a low volume playing in the background. He also noticed multiple stacks of books and magazines.

"Just have a seat, and I'll set up." Sasuke said and disappeared from his room.

He entered again with a chair better suited for cutting hair and he also brightened the light in his room. He laid down numerous old newspapers underneath the chair to avoid getting hair on the floor. He again went out of his room and came back with towels, a spray bottle and all the other supplies for this trim. He cleared an area on his desk and placed all the supplies there. The room was cool as the window was slightly open to let some breeze in.

"Here. Sit on this chair." He instructed Naruto.

Naruto took a seat on the chair as Sasuke handed him a towel.

"Tuck that into your shirt. I'll tuck in another one on the back."

Naruto did what he said. He suddenly felt cold skin touch the back of his neck. He almost flinched but then realized it was just Sasuke tucking in the towel. Sasuke was set to cut his hair now.

He started spraying the back of his head with water to wet the hair. As he made his way towards the front, he paused.

"I'm sorry if my hand is cold, it's just always like that." Sasuke said while looking down.

"That's fine." Naruto reassured him.

Sasuke put one of his hands under Naruto's hair on his forehead and started spraying his hair in the front. He did this to avoid getting any water on Naruto's face. He felt the warmth from Naruto's forehead making his fingers less cold. Naruto's body always ran hot. Sasuke's fingers felt cold, soft and bony on his forehead. Even though they were only on his head for a few seconds, Naruto made several observations and recorded his feelings.

Sasuke went behind him again after all of Naruto's hair was soaking. He combed it thoroughly and then began snipping away. Naruto had bangs in the front, the hair went shorter behind his ears and then longer again. Since it was only a trim, Sasuke wanted to keep the style of his hair the same. After taking some length off the back and the sides, he moved towards the front and started combing through and trimming his bangs. Naruto was trying his best not to move too much and enjoyed the mood of Sasuke's room. Sasuke stopped cutting his hair when Naruto's bangs fell right above his eyes. He crouched down in front of Naruto holding strands of hair from each side of his head, to make sure they were equal in length. Sasuke had his eyes focused on the hair but was dodging meeting Naruto's eyes. To match the length of the front pieces and to make the edges softer, he moved closer to Naruto. His face only a few inches away from Naruto's. Naruto was truly intimidated at this moment. Sasuke was close to him, closer than he would usually be in an ordinary circumstance. They both were trying to dodge each other's eyes as Sasuke did his job. Naruto decided it was best to just look at his lap to avoid the awkwardness. After adding some finishing touches, Sasuke could finally see all of his eyes under his room light. He just wanted to have a longer look at them, he tried to conceal what he was trying to see by playing with and shaking Naruto's hair for a couple of seconds. Although he noticed Naruto was looking down and felt a tinge of disappointment. Because of his nervousness he exchanged glimpses between Naruto's lips and his eyes, he wasn't trying to do this on purpose but shifting his eyes helped him feel more in control. He could feel the heat from Naruto's body and also observe his breathing.

The weather was getting worse by the second. The rain outside had turned into a full-blown thunderstorm. The light in Sasuke's room flickered when he finally broke away his shy and soft gaze from Naruto's face. Naruto's cheeks were a little rosy. He thought Sasuke was just finishing up when in reality he was trying to admire his bright eyes. In the end, his chest started rising more when he breathed because of Sasuke's presence. He was almost certain he felt Sasuke's gaze rest on his lips for a moment. Naruto had never been in a position like this, especially with someone who gave him butterflies. Sasuke stood up and removed the towels from Naruto's shirt. He gave them a little shake on the newspaper before taking them away. Meanwhile, Naruto stood up, gave his head and body and a little shake to get rid of any hairpieces. He wanted to help so he moved the chair and folded up the newspapers with hair in them. Sasuke entered the room with a mirror in his hand.

"Here, the bathrooms right there, have a look and let me know." Sasuke handed him the mirror and pointed towards the bathroom.

"Thanks." Naruto made his way to the bathroom and turned on the light to have a look at his hair.

Sasuke had done a great job. His hair looked the same, just a bit shorter. Naruto felt the whole experience to be very intimate, and the mood of Sasuke's room didn't make that feeling better. When he went back to the room, Sasuke had already cleared up the rest of the mess and was sitting on his bed.

"It looks great! Thank you so much, I should probably head home now." Naruto said as he leaned on the wall.

"You should stay, my dad and brother are out of town for business, and it's not safe outside because of the storm." Sasuke looked like all his energy went into letting out that sentence.

"You might be right, are you sure it's ok?" Naruto asked for reassurance.

"Yeah." Sasuke said looking up at him.

"Ok thanks, I'll just call my mom and let her know."

"I'm gonna get started on dinner." Sasuke said as he left Naruto alone in his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i love interacting with you all, so i wanted to tell you guys some other ships i considered writing this fic about. the dynamics of every relationship are different so the writing would be different for all of them ofc, but they are also similar in some ways..
> 
> itadori and megumi  
> bokuto and akaashi  
> kirishima and bakugou  
> eren and armin
> 
> sometimes when im thinking about one of these pairs more than the others, i imagine them in this story to soothe my thoughts..
> 
> but tysm for reading :))


	10. 10.

Naruto went downstairs to find Sasuke after getting approval from his mom to stay longer at his house. The way the storm was brewing, he might even have to spend the night here. As he walked into the kitchen he saw Sasuke opening and closing a bunch of cabinets and wandering around.

"You know... I can cook if you want." Said Naruto as he observed Sasuke's actions.

"I wouldn't be a proper host if I let you do that." Said Sasuke and continued his actions.

"Don't worry about that. I'm a reasonable cook, so I insist." Naruto replied.

Sasuke paused and looked at him with an unsure expression. When he was alone, he would just order takeout or survive on basic meals he could make for himself. So he decided that after all, it might be a better idea to let Naruto cook since he didn't know how to cook properly.

"Ok then, you can cook. What did you have in mind?" Sasuke sighed and asked due to the lack of options.

"Let me just have a look at what groceries you have." Naruto said and started looking in the cabinets and the refrigerator.

He looked and double-checked everything for a couple of minutes and started lining up ingredients on the kitchen counter. Sasuke had no clue what was in Naruto's mind so he just stood there watching him.

"Ok, it seems like we have everything." He said as he placed the last thing on the counter and turned to Sasuke.

"What are you making?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms.

"Meatballs! Is that ok?" He asked Sasuke, unsure if he liked meatballs or not.

"Yeah yeah."

"Ok I'm gonna get started then. Do you have an apron?"

"Uh yes, just a second."

Sasuke opened a tiny linen closet beside the kitchen arch and pulled out a red and white gingham apron for Naruto.

"Here you go. Let me help you, I can cut the vegetables or something." Sasuke was not good at cooking, but he wanted to be a helping hand at least, he felt guilty for making a guest do all the work.

"No I've got it. This recipe is pretty quick anyway, it doesn't have much to it." Naruto smiled at Sasuke and tied his apron.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes yes I'm sure." Replied Naruto.

With that Sasuke left the kitchen and went up to his room to get a book to read in the meantime. He brought his speaker downstairs and put on some mellow background music. He loved stitching a mood around him to match what he was feeling on most days. With the thunder outside, him sitting on the couch with his book listening to low beats and the faint sound of the exhaust from the kitchen, it was a perfect setting. He sat on the couch with his knee up to his chest and the other leg crossed under. The windows in the house were kept open to let the air in. The rain had gone on for days and had turned the air from humid to a breeze. The smell of earth would enter the home in increments from the backyard. Sasuke was trying hard to focus on his book when he couldn't help but look at Naruto. Naruto seemed in his zone, determined to get dinner ready. A faint layer of sweat was building upon his forehead from the heat of the stove. While cooking, Naruto thought about how Sasuke and he were getting closer. Even if it was the slightest change. Today, Sasuke seemed to have more expression on his face than Naruto had ever seen. Usually, his face would be blunt and his words, to the point. Today, his tone changed depending on what he was saying and so did his facial expressions. He moved his eyes, his nose and his mouth to match what he said. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Naruto for now. He wondered if Sasuke too felt the thick air between their interactions, or if it was just his imagination.

While lost in thought and cutting green onions, he realized he slightly cut his fingertip. There was some blood and stinging pain. He walked over to the living room to ask Sasuke for a band-aid. Although he thought he might need something bigger than that.

"Hey, do you have a-"

"Oh my god, you're, you're bleeding!" Sasuke said with quiet terror in his eyes as he saw blood drop from Naruto's finger to the floor.

Before Naruto could say anything else, he dropped his book on the couch and ran to the linen closet he had previously opened for the apron. He got out the first aid kit and took it to the dining area.

"Come here." He instructed Naruto.

Naruto went to the table and took a seat beside Sasuke, facing him. Sasuke pulled out an alcohol wipe to wipe off the excess blood from the finger. His hands were shaking while holding Naruto's finger. Sasuke was looking down at his hand and his long hair was hiding his face but teardrops were falling on Naruto's lap. Naruto had no idea what was going on but he didn't want to make anything worse, so he just sat there wondering why Sasuke sobbed. Sasuke cleaned up his wound and wrapped it in multiple layers of gauze. Without giving Naruto the chance to look at him, he quickly got up, put away the first aid kit, and went upstairs.

What just happened?

Naruto's brain was even more fogged now. He sat there for a couple of minutes, contemplating what he should do. Should he go upstairs and ask to talk or should he mind his own business? He decided to finish up in the kitchen and if Sasuke still wasn't down by then, he'd go to him and ask about it. Just as he was done with dinner, Sasuke came down looking extremely normal. He grabbed bowls and cutlery and started setting up the table. Naruto took the large bowl of veggies and meatballs bathing in a fragrant broth over to the dining table. Sasuke's house had a traditional Japanese eating area. Naruto took a seat adjacent to Sasuke and sat down with his legs crossed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked with concern.

"No... I'm sorry, I mean I'd rather not." Sasuke said while looking down.

"It's ok." Naruto gave him a small smile. Sasuke looked up at him and smiled just a little.

They both started their meals. The dish was warm in flavour, almost medicinal. There was a strong ginger flavour in both the broth and the meatballs. You could feel the heat in your throat after drinking it. Sasuke loved the dish, it made his usual cold body feel warm from the inside. He could feel the warmth and the aroma in his mind even. He thought, in a way, this dish embodied Naruto himself. The broth was a bright yellow-orange and steaming. The food felt like a soft hug. Sasuke was trying not to break down again while thinking these thoughts.

After they were both done, Sasuke did the dishes. Naruto offered to help, and Sasuke shot down the offer, reminding him of his wrapped wound. They both awkwardly sat on the couch for a couple of minutes after dinner, not knowing what to do now. The storm was getting worse and Sasuke had to close all the windows as some leaves and rain were entering the house. Naruto's mom had already texted him to stay the night at Sasuke's as it was extremely unsafe to leave the house. They were both on their phones when the power went out.

"Fuck." Naruto heard Sasuke curse under his breath.

Naruto didn't know what to do, and he sure didn't like the dark. Nothing was visible in the house anymore.

"We should go to my room, I have a couple of candles." Sasuke turned on the flash on his phone and led the way to his room.

Once they were in his room, Naruto took a seat in a corner of the bed. Sasuke got out the lighter from his bag and lit the two candles on his desk. He then disappeared and came back with another candle. He put it on the windowsill and lit it for a better distribution of light. It wasn't the best but at least everything in his room was visible now.

"Do you want to watch a movie? My laptop should be charged." Sasuke asked.

"Uh yeah, anything to take my mind off of what's going on outside." Said Naruto.

"Do you not like thunder?"

"No, that's fine I guess, just not a fan of the dark." Naruto replied.

Sasuke got the laptop from his desk and placed it in the middle of the bed as he took a seat in the other corner. He connected it to his hotspot and opened Netflix.

"What do you feel like watching?" He asked Naruto.

"Anything that will distract me, so something light or something like a drama." He said.

"How about anime then?" Asked Sasuke with his brows raised.

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

"How about One Punch Man? It's light?"

"Yeah! That's perfect." Naruto replied. 

Sasuke put on the first episode and grabbed his pack of cigarettes and the ashtray from his desk. He put the ashtray on the night table beside him and lit the cigarette. Naruto investigated his actions. He saw how his cheeks hollowed when he took a puff, how lightly he held the cigarette in his hand. The cigarettes Sasuke smoked were longer but leaner than the normal ones his dad smoked. Sasuke caught Naruto glancing from his peripheral and turned to him.

"You wanna try?" Sasuke asked him.

Naruto didn't like cigarettes, even though he'd never smoked one for himself.

"I don't like them, but I'll see what all the fuss is about."

Sasuke extended his hand and Naruto took the cigarette from him and held it awkwardly between his thumb and index finger. He brought it to his lips and started coughing immediately after taking a small puff. The smoke came out in intervals with his cough. He instantly handed it back to Sasuke who was lightly laughing at Naruto. Naruto's eyes watered from the cough and his tongue felt grainy from the smoke.

"That is absolutely gross, I don't know how you do it." Naruto said after gathering his senses. 

Sasuke shrugged at that and they resumed watching anime in silence.

It had been a couple of hours of binging on the laptop now. The room was getting more chilly by the second. Sasuke's knuckles and fingertips were rosy from the chill and so was his nose. He paused the episode to get under the blanket.

"Sorry, just a sec." He said while wrapping himself under the comforter.

"Umm, I'm cold too..." Naruto said shyly.

"Oh um, here..." Sasuke moved closer to Naruto and extended the blanket.

Naruto moved closer and wrapped himself in his half. His right shoulder was still out and he didn't want to yank the blanket. He moved even closer to Sasuke, their shoulders now touching. Sasuke looked over to Naruto at this touch, locking eyes with him and then broke the stare in an instant to resume the show. Sasuke had his knees to his chest and Naruto was sitting cross-legged. Naruto was desperately trying to focus on the show but Sasuke's presence was consuming him. He could smell the hint of tobacco on Sasuke's neck, as the sweet but bitter floral scent from the rest of his body was trying to cover it up. As he took momentary glances at him, he could see the reflection and movement from the laptop clearly in his dark and glossy eyes. He had his usual lethargic posture with a hunched back, but he still managed to look attractive regardless. Everything about him was just so effortless, and Naruto hated how he was feeling at the moment, especially when he couldn't do anything about it.

Sasuke felt the heat from Naruto's body. Even though Naruto claimed he was cold, his body was still radiating. Sasuke felt comfortable and the redness from his hands started to vanish after being close to Naruto. He felt extremely nervous being so near to him, he automatically started to peel the skin around his fingers. Even though he felt overwhelmed with Naruto's presence, he liked it more and more as every second passed.

There was this unspoken tension. Tension as thick as space between magnets when they repel each other. That's what the space between their bodies felt like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone, just wanted to thank you guys for liking this fic and for all the nice feedback!!
> 
> also just to note, and not to cause any confusions, naruto and sasuke's behavior has just been made softer, not feminized at all. think of it as how they would be in our time, outside of the Naruto world. this is how i imagine their personalities if they were among us and just normal boys you know.
> 
> lots of love :))


	11. 11.

Naruto was slowly falling asleep beside Sasuke. He was trying to keep himself awake. To try and distract himself from Naruto beside him, Sasuke focused all his attention on his laptop screen. Naruto couldn't stop his eyes from closing due to the sleepiness. His mind finally gave in and he fell asleep with his head leaning on the wall behind him. Sasuke took this as a sign to wind up and go to bed after the ongoing episode finished. He suddenly felt Naruto's head drop on his shoulder. Naruto's bright hair brushed the side of his jaw. His hair smelled like coconut shampoo. Sasuke didn't know what to do. He didn't want to wake Naruto up. He contained his panic and tried to finish the rest of the episode without moving too much. After the episode ended, he turned off his laptop and slowly put it beside him on the nightstand. He slowly moved his shoulder away from Naruto's head, but he supported the back of his head with his hand and laid him down on the bed. All of Sasuke's movements were extremely quiet and cautious. He got up from the bed and put the blanket over Naruto and tucked his body in. Naruto looked so soft and serene while sleeping. His hair was everywhere, his mouth just a tad open making the white of his teeth visible, and his face free from all thoughts and worries. Sasuke wished he could sleep like that. His room had some warmth from two bodies and the candles being there. He wondered where he should sleep. In any of the other rooms, he would freeze while sleeping, and he didn't want to take the candles away since Naruto was uncomfortable in the dark. He brought the blankets from the other two rooms and an extra one to his room along with a pillow. He laid down one of them on the floor beside his bed and kept the other two for tucking himself in. He lied down and cozied himself up under the blankets. He still wasn't sleepy so he decided to be on the phone for a while. While looking through his photos he started weeping again. A tear slid down the bridge of his nose, making its way through the other eyelid and then soaking in the blanket. More tears followed this action. He tried to cry in silence but he couldn't stop himself from making small sniffles. Sasuke had his back to the bed and half his head under the blanket to make the area surrounding him soundproof.

Naruto had woken up after Sasuke tucked him in. He silently observed Sasuke's actions and kept his head buried in the pillow to not attract any attention. He felt bad for making Sasuke sleep on the floor. The bed was too small for two people to sleep apart anyway. He could barely hear it, but he knew that Sasuke was crying again. His heart hurt for him. He had no clue what made Sasuke sad but he was definitely going through it. All Naruto wanted to do was help him in some way, but how could he without having an explanation. He closed his eyes again to try and get some sleep.

The next morning was bright and sunny. The storm had long withered away. Sasuke woke up around 8 am. He only got about four hours of sleep. His vivid dreams and thoughts kept him up most of the night. He first put out the candles and put them back in their place. After, he put all the blankets back and finished up in the washroom. He didn't know when to wake Naruto up. He thought he should at least make breakfast for Naruto to thank him for the meal yesterday. He wanted to keep it simple since he didn't know how to make anything fancy anyway. He filled the kettle up for some hot water needed for the tea. He decided to scramble some eggs along with toast and to cut up some fruit. Sasuke didn't like to eat in the morning so he only made a limited amount of food. After he set the table, he went upstairs with some courage to wake Naruto up. He bent down near the bed and gently tapped on Naruto's shoulder. He was in the same position as he went to bed last night. Sasuke patted a couple more times but he got no response. Sasuke went closer to him. His head just inches away from Naruto's face. He observed how his eyelashes were slightly darker than his bright head of hair. And how he had some tiny freckles spread around his nose and cheeks from spending so much time in the sun. He looked beautiful, even after a whole night of sleep. He breathed heavily as his nostrils and mouth were still under the blanket, and the heat from his body never went away. Sasuke gently swivelled his hand on Naruto's head, which led Naruto to slowly open his eyes. His vision gathered itself to finally see Sasuke looking at him. Sasuke took his hand away, backed up a little and sat down crossing his legs.

"Good morning." Said Sasuke.

"Good morning." Naruto said from inside the blanket.

"I made breakfast. There's an extra toothbrush for you in the washroom. Come down after."

"Ok." Replied Naruto.

Sasuke got up and made his way downstairs. Naruto felt so vulnerable at that moment. He fussed about how he looked even though Sasuke only saw half of his face. He expected to wake up before Sasuke, but clearly, that wasn't the case. He got up and made the bed as a courtesy. He got cleaned up and went downstairs for breakfast. Sasuke was already sitting down and sipping tea. Naruto sat down adjacent to him just like last night. He served himself some of all the food Sasuke had prepared and started eating. He noticed that Sasuke was just drinking tea and not eating anything.

"Are you not going to eat?" Naruto asked.

"No, eating in the morning makes me nauseous." Sasuke replied.

Naruto finished eating and helped put all the dishes back in the kitchen. He watched Sasuke do the dishes again as his finger was injured.

"Do you work today?" Naruto asked him.

"No. The shop is closed since my dad isn't here."

"Do you want to go surfing then? It's really nice outside."

"I don't know... I know I said yes but I'm nervous." Sasuke said, feeling unsure.

"You'll be fine! We stop whenever you say stop." Naruto comforted him.

"Ok, fine."

"Yay!" Naruto exclaimed with a fat smile.

Sasuke smiled too after seeing Naruto's reaction.

Sasuke grabbed some of his stuff and got prepared for the beach. He took some extra cash as he knew he'd have to rent a suit and a surfboard. They both sat in the car and Naruto started driving towards the beach.

Once they reached, Naruto took Sasuke to the surf shop so that he could rent a surf suit and a board.

"Here, this is the same brand I wear. It should probably fit you." Naruto said, grabbing a suit by the hanger.

Sasuke took it and went to the changing room to try it on. He opened the curtain back up to ask Naruto if it was the right fit.

Sasuke was skinny. This was the first time Naruto had seen the shape of Sasuke's body. He was built lean. Naruto could see light outlines where he had the most muscle definition. He wasn't just all skin and bones. His body looked like that of a runner, thin but lean.

"Is this ok?" Asked Sasuke pulling at the fabric.

"Yeah, looks great. I picked out a board for you too." Replied Naruto.

Sasuke carried the clothes he was previously wearing and paid the rent. They headed back to Naruto's car where he changed as well. Sasuke tried his best to divert his attention from Naruto, but he did get a peek. Naruto didn't even mind him looking. Naruto's body was similar to that of Sasuke's, just a little more muscle as he got lots of activity. His body was built like a swimmer's.

"Here, this is a wax bar, just rub this on the board, it prevents slipping."

"Ok..." Sasuke lightly started waxing the board.

"You're gonna need a lot more than that. Let me do it today, you put the sunscreen on, that's very important as well."

"Yeah ok."

As soon as they both were ready, Naruto led the way to a grassy area near the beach.

"First we'll practice some basics here and then we'll spend some time in the water." Sasuke nodded his head.

"Today we'll just learn how to paddle and observe waves."

Naruto put his board on the side and put Sasuke's board on the ground.

"Put this leash on your ankle, this is important for your safety and so you don't get separated from the board." Sasuke followed his instructions.

"Now lie down on your stomach on the board. Just a little bit lower." Sasuke scooched down a little.

"Ok perfect, now I want you to make paddle motions around the board with your hands, as if you were swimming."

Sasuke followed his actions and looked up at Naruto for assurance. Naruto moved around to look at his posture and then started to fix things. He moved Sasuke's legs closer to each other on the board. After, he brought his fingers closer together to make a cupping shape of his hand. Sasuke tried not to look at him while everything was happening.

"Sorry, I just wanted everything to be perfect since surfing can be risky."

They practiced the paddling motion a bit more and then Naruto taught Sasuke how to get off the board in the water. They both headed towards the ocean after Sasuke got a better grip.

"We'll just stay in the shallow today so you can practice paddling, and I'll keep your board stable for you." Said Naruto.

"Ok."

They both walked into the water until they were elbows deep. Sasuke got up on the board and started practicing paddling just like Naruto taught him. Naruto was standing right beside him keeping the board stable from underneath. Sasuke was struggling to balance on the board. Naruto moved one of his hands on the curve of Sasuke's lower back to keep him from slipping off. Naruto's touch on his back felt safe and stable. Sasuke was assured that Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to him. Sasuke got back on pace, moving forward in the water. Naruto slowly let go of the board to see his progress. Sasuke was advancing wonderfully. Naruto told him to stop so he could get his board and they both could practice together. Sasuke got off the board and slicked his hair back as he could barely see in front of him. He thought of definitely bringing a headband next time.

After they both paddled beside each other for a little bit, they stuck their boards in the sand and sat down to examine waves. Naruto explained a ton to him about what kind of waves they would start with and showed him other people surfing and explained what level they were on. Sasuke dried himself off and got changed pronto as he had to return the board and the suit. Naruto did the same and waited for him in the car. 

"So, did you like it?" Naruto asked as Sasuke got back in the car.

"Yeah it was fun, but very tiring too." Sasuke replied, leaning his head back on the seat.

"Yeah you get used to the water pushing you around."

Naruto couldn't help but look at Sasuke. He hated how effortlessly beautiful he looked all the time. His hair was wet and a mess. His shirt stuck to his torso in some places where water was left from his lazy job with the towel. The way he closed his eyes and let out a sigh after drinking cold water. Naruto had to turn his head away from Sasuke and calm his nerves. He had to tell himself to stop staring all the time.

"Are you going to be alone all day at home?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, my dad and brother come back tomorrow morning."

"Then why don't you come over, my mom would love that, she loves being a host." Naruto smiled.

"Are you sure? You've already done so much." Sasuke replied.

"Yeah of course. It's better than being bored by yourself."

"Ok then, I'll just have to go back home at night."

"Yeah no worries, I'll drop you off."

"Ok thanks." Sasuke said shyly.

They both blushed a little and avoided each other's faces as Naruto pulled out of the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone, sorry for the late update. both, motivation and mental health have been low lately so expect spacey updates. but i love this fic and i will finish it so dw.
> 
> hope you like this chapter! ty:)


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